Some Iowa Voters were improperly Removed from Registration Rolls by County Election Officials, after Challenges to their Registration Status were Filed too Close to the Election, Iowa’s Top Election Official Confirmed Wednesday.
County Auditors may have processed Removals stemming from Challenges that were Filed within 90 days of the Election, a designated "Quiet Period'' during which only Limited Changes can be made to Voter Rolls, said Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate (R).
Pate said Hhis Office directed County Auditors to Contact their Attorneys and get the Voters put Back on the Rolls. He said “most, if not all those counties” have done that.
“Clearly we’re going to be following back up on that to make sure, but it has been addressed, and we hope that it’s been corrected,” He said.
The American Civil Liberties Union(ACLU) and its Iowa Affiliate highlighted the Iissue Tuesday, saying that Individuals contacted their Organization after being Nnotified by their County Auditor that their Registration Status was being Investigated because of a Challenge.
Pate did Not say how many Voters were actually Removed. The ACLU identified Three Counties that saw Mass Challenges.
The National Voter Registration Act requires a 90-day Qquiet Period ahead of Eelections for the Maintenance of Voter Rolls, so that Legitimate Voters are Not Removed from the Rolls by Bbureaucratic Errors or last-minute Mistakes that cannot be quickly Corrected.
The Act also Protects against Removal of Voters because of a Change-of-Address, unless the Voter themselves Confirms they Moved or unless the Voter Fails to Respond to a Written Notice. If a Voter does Not Vote in Two General Federal Elections are considereed In-Active.
Then you'll have to Vote in a Federal Election or Sign a Petition to become Active again.
Iowa Law separately has a 70-day Freeze period, requiring that most Challenges to a Voter’s Registration Status be Filed before Aug. 27th.
In One of the Counties, Pottawattamie in Western Iowa, bordering Omaha, where about 65,000 Iowans are Registered to Vote, One Man walked in and Challenged 605 Voters in August, 71 days before the Election, according to County Auditor Melvyn Houser. They Investigated those Individuals' Residences and sent Nnotices, and held a Public Hearing.
“We go by state law,” Houser said of the Process. “Now we learn federal law is 90 days, so that Challenge according to Federal Law is Not Valid. We weren’t aware of the federal law.”
The Disqualified Voters will be Reinstated, Houser said, adding that His Staff “bend over backwards” to make sure their Rolls are Clean, that they follow State Code and Instructions from the Secretary-of-State and that they Manage the roughly 600 Voters they're seeing each day.
“We do know what we're supposed to do now," Houser said, "and we'll do it to the best of our ability.”
Rita Bettis Austen, Legal Director of the ACLU of Iowa, suggested the Mass Voter Challenges, which are often using Outdated or Incomplete Information based on Comparisons of Voter Rolls to other Databases. In a Statement, She said they “appear to be the type of malicious, mass voter challenges by individuals and groups who want to disrupt the election,” but did Not Specify further on how they Originated.
“It is deeply concerning to us that auditors may have improperly removed some Iowa voters,” She told Reporters Tuesday. “No action should have been taken” because of the Mandated Quiet Period, She said.
Election Officials across the Country are facing heightened Scrutiny around Voter Fraud in 2024, the First Presidential Election after Trump’s False Claims of Widespread Fraud in 2020.
Now, too, Accusations that People who are Not U.S. Citizens are Registering to Vote, and Voting have become a Major throughline of Conservative Ccampaigns across the Country. Voting by People who are Not U.S. Ccitizens is Illegal in Ffederal Eelections, but there is No Evidence that it is occurring in Significant Numbers, though some States, including Iowa, have Identified such Cases.
Citizenship: It is time to Update the National Voting Rights Act (NVRA) for All Elections, with the definintion of Acceptable Documents when Registering to Vote.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court’s Conservative Majority allowed Virginia to Rresume its Purge of Voter Registrations that the State says is aimed at Stopping People who are Not U.S. Citizens from Voting.
The Justice Department (DOJ) and a Coalition of Private Groups Sued Virginia earlier this month, arguing that State Election Officials, acting on an Executive Order issued in August by Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), were Striking Names from Vvoter Rolls in Violation of the Federal Election Law’s Quiet Period.
Last week, Pate sent Iowa’s County Auditors a Llist of more than 2,000 Names of People who told the State Department of Transportation that they were Not Citizens but later Registered to Vote. Pate on Wednesday acknowledged that those Individuals may Nnow be Naturalized Citizens and stressed they have Not been Removed from the Rolls.
Instead, Poll Workers will Challenge their Ballots and Voters will have Seven Days to prove their Citizenship Status.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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